


Golden Afternoon

by bennettmp339



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Animal Shelters, Fluff, Gen, Happy Steve Bingo, Hurricane Florence, Puppies, SO MUCH FLUFF, and gets some much needed sleep, fluffy puppy, humane society, steve cuddles some puppies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-14
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2019-07-12 02:24:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15985622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bennettmp339/pseuds/bennettmp339
Summary: After reading an article about Hurricane Florence, Steve goes to his local Humane Society animal shelter and cuddles a puppy. That's it.





	Golden Afternoon

**Author's Note:**

> This is for Happy Steve Bingo, bingo square I-5, puppies. 
> 
> Thanks to coldwinterrose for the prompt and sable for the title suggestion.

It started as an accident. Steve had heard about animal rescue organizations being swamped after natural disasters, and he wanted to help. While Hurricane Florence was going to make landfall in either North Carolina or South Carolina, and the effects in New York were unlikely to be anywhere near as bad as a Category 2 Hurricane slamming into the coast, he knew that the shelters were always in need of volunteers and donations. A donation felt too impersonal, so he decided to see if he could volunteer at a local animal shelter. 

He did some research on the internet, finding the closest Human Society, and wandered down to the building. He smiled at the harried employees and even more harried volunteers, and made small talk with a few of them as he pretended to look at the dogs. They were vicious balls of fluff, these dogs, nothing like the vague memories he had of the dogs he’d met back before the ice, before the serum. He had once had thoughts of owning a dog, but these were… disconcerting. Perhaps a cat instead? They were more self-sufficient?

He was in the process of trying to head over to the cats in their large pen, when a harried volunteer ran into him, more or less literally, and shoved a small ball of sleepy fluff into his arms. He was admonished ‘don’t drop her’ before the volunteer ran to the back room, leaving Steve holding what he was reasonably sure was a golden retriever puppy. He’d done some research into companion dogs after his roadtrip after the Battle of Manhattan, and knew that Goldens were considered some of the best, because of their gentle temperament, their easiness to be trained, as well their size and general hardiness. He’d just never seen one so small. Or so cute. 

As the volunteer had told Steve only that he wasn’t to drop the puppy, he found what he hoped was a quiet corner and sat down, cradling the warm ball of fluff against his chest. He found the most comfortable position he could on the cold, hard floor, and settled the puppy in his lap, running his fingers through her fur. She made a contented noise and fell asleep in his lap, as he continued petting her. He felt himself relaxing, shoulders losing the stiffness and tension that he hasn’t been able to lose since waking up in the future, even when sleeping. Before he knew it, he was asleep, shoulders slumped against the wall, petting the incredibly fluffy puppy in his lap, even in his sleep. 

The staff found him an hour later, after the minor emergency was over, asleep. The volunteer who’d handed him the puppy smiled slightly as she prodded him awake. “Come on, no sleeping in the - Cap?” 

“I fell asleep?” he asked, making a shushing motion with his hand as he continued to pet the puppy. He shook his head as if to clear it, and realized that he felt the most rested he’d felt since he’d awoken in the future, and his decision was made. He handed the sleeping puppy back to the confused volunteer, and pushed himself to his feet, feeling a bit unsteady. 

“I think… what would I need to do to adopt a golden retriever?” he asked. “I’ve been thinking about getting a companion animal since I got back from deployment and they come highly recommended.” He felt unsteady on his feet, and was grateful when the flustered volunteer handed him back the puppy and pointed him in the direction of one of the employees at the front. He cradled the puppy, and smiled for what felt like the first time since WWII. All thanks to a small, fluffy, and sleepy puppy.


End file.
